Earlier this month the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of people biking to work in Chicago has increased from just less than 6,000 in 2000 to nearly 16,000 now. In 2012, Mayor Rahm Emanuel pledged to make the city the most bike-friendly in the country.

The city has been adding miles of bike lanes since then, toward a goal of 100 miles by 2016. But some critics of the city's plans have argued that Chicago's new bike lanes, particularly its special "buffered" lanes, don't go far enough to protect cyclists from cars.